MIXTAPE: Darren Garvey and Nathaniel Riley

MIXTAPE: Songwriter Showcase is an in-the-round show featuring two artists and hosted by Monica Marie LaBonte at Longmont Public Media About this event This is an intimate live show in downtown Longmont, Colorado presented by The Soundpost Sessions at Longmont Public Media featuring two songwriters and host Monica Marie LaBonte all on stage swapping songs and stories in-the-round. Music is from 7:30-9:30, doors at 7:00. Join us for this very special ongoing musical series every other month! Darren Garvey When percussionist, songwriter and producer Darren Garvey wheeled an old Baldwin upright piano into his home, it felt full circle. He hadn’t had a piano in his living room since childhood. For Garvey, songs come from somewhere—an instrument, the confluence of two rivers, a scribble in his daughter’s sketchbook. Take “Only the River,” a song that came from listening to the rush of the St. Vrain behind his house. Or “As A Scribble,” the title track from his latest album that evokes the wonder of child’s play and the messiness of life. After surfacing on over 200 albums by other artists, this new collection of songs center Garvey as a singer, songcrafter and seasoned multi-instrumentalist. Garvey is well-loved for passionately supporting artists in the indie-pop and folk scene for over 20 years. Regardless of his role, he always works for the betterment of a song. He sings and plays drums/percussion as a member of Elephant Revival and has produced music for Nathaniel Riley, Daniel Rodriguez, The Lumineers, Daniel and the Lion (feat. Monica Martin), Trapper Schoepp, Sound of Honey (Emma Rose of Big Richard) and others. He plays piano, guitar, bass, melodica, accordion, glockenspiel, bowed percussion, and basically anything he can fashion into an instrument. Adam Duritz from Counting Crows describes Garvey as “an absolute artist,” praising his ability “to play with a band acoustically and just invent.” His Elephant Revival bandmate Dango Rose calls him “a lighthouse” and singer-songwriter Carolyn Hunter says playing with Garvey “makes everything sound and feel so easy.” https://darrengarvey.com/ Nathaniel Riley Nathaniel Riley, a folk singer/songwriter from South Dakota, put in his time working the small family farm and recording melancholic melodies in his basement. Treading with years of grief that constructed a cloud full of songs that Nathaniel lugged to Colorado began the process of his debut full length album, “Bird Songs” Nathaniel’s songscapes lean on your heartstrings, unpacking melodies like a nostalgic lucid dream. Acoustically driven, wistful lyricism and ambient instrumentation provide the bedrock for his contemporary folktales. Compiling miles of desolation, heartache, introspection and memories of the forest and the prairie’s whistle that convey him to persist. Empowering his songs their role, to be a beacon on the hill. The sound and songs arrived abundantly, easily and honestly. Nathaniel began recording his album “Bird Songs”, with Aaron Youngberg at Swingfingers Recording Studios in Fort Collins, Colorado in September of 2020. Darren Garvey came on as a producer for the record, bringing a grass-roots perspective and an experimental, contemporary ear. “I always loved pushing the boundaries of genres and wanted to create something familiar to myself in a couple different ways. One of which was to bring ambient ethereal sounds to the record that may not be commonly found on records claiming to be primarily folk,” says Riley. “I love the process of recording and the almost immortal aspect it provides,” Riley says. “You will forever hear the person’s skin on the strings, the breath before they sing. Living proof of somebody being alive, and it remains there, like a little memory box of sound forever. Itself, never changing.” https://www.nathanielrileymusic.com/ About the host: Monica LaBonte is the Creative Director and host of Mixtape, a Colorado-born songwriter and vocalist whose life has been shaped by music from an early age. A songwriter for more than two decades, she was a finalist in the 2018 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase and the 2019 Recording King Songwriter Contest. She has lent her voice to hundreds of studio recordings, toured stages across the country, and continues to write, perform, and champion authentic music. Forged in the Rocky Mountains, she created Mixtape as a space to celebrate songwriters, honor the art of songwriting, and embrace the sacred exchange of stories that connects artists and audiences. Bringing the perspective of a working musician to every conversation, she invites listeners beyond the songs and into the lives, inspirations, and creative journeys behind them. https://www.monicamariemusic.com/